A transit hub is an international airport with world-class infrastructure for global airlines and their connecting flights. A transit hub provides enhanced connectivity to any part of the country and seamless transfer between two international or international and domestic flights
A panel has been set up in India to study the dynamics of global transit hubs like Dubai and Singapore. This has been done to transform Delhi’s international airport, the Indira Gandhi International Airport, into a world-class international hub, a report in indianeagle.com pointed out.
A transit hub is an international airport with world-class infrastructure for global airlines and their connecting flights. A transit hub provides enhanced connectivity to any part of the country and seamless transfer between two international or international and domestic flights.
Statistically, Indira Gandhi Airport – the ninth busiest airport in the world, according to the Airports Council International’s report 2023 – has all the makings of a global transit hub.
Indira Gandhi Airport will be the first and only airport with four operational runways in the country
New Delhi is the destination of a maximum number of non-stop flights to India from the USA, Europe, Australia, and other countries
The panel is expected to submit its report to Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Indian Civil Aviation Minister. It may be pointed out that India has been consistently denying demands by foreign airlines – especially those from the Gulf – to increase their flying rights to and from India.
The plans for an international hub seem to have been prompted by these demands. The third phase of expansion that the Delhi airport is currently undergoing will support the government’s ambitious project for the airport to be a transit hub. On completion of the third phase in 2023, Terminal 1 will expand from 60K square meters to 169K square meters, with a boost to its traffic-handling capacity from 20 million to 40 million per annum.
In addition, a new integrated terminal for both departure and arrival operations will be carved out of Terminal 1C and Terminal1D. The projected addition of a seventh check-in island will expand T3’s international transfer area. The fourth runway, 4.4km, is also under construction to let the airport handle more international flights. Indira Gandhi Airport will be the first and only airport with four operational runways in the country. New Delhi is the destination of a maximum number of non-stop flights to India from the USA, Europe, Australia, and other countries.
Once the airport becomes a transit hub, it will see more long-haul flights from across the world. The civil aviation minister has held talks with the CEO of Air India and the CEO of IndiGo, requiring them to study the best practices that are needed for the scheduling of transfers between international and domestic flights or between two international flights at Dubai and Doha airports, Changi International Airport, London Heathrow Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport.
If Air India provides direct connectivity to New Delhi from Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, and Los Angeles in the future, the airline should make proper arrangements for international arrivals’ hassle-free domestic travel to their final destinations across the country.
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